Middleton’s league lead is trimmed... Bognor denied

It was a mixed week for our local sides in division three of the Susses Premier Cricket League.

Middleton lost but stay top, Bognor drew a game they should have won and Pagham suffered a loss that edges them closer to the drop.

Read the round-up below...

Middleton v Lindfield

Sussex League division two

Middleton’s lead at the top is just 11 points after they fell to defeat at home to Lindfield.

The re-introduction of opening bowler James Pearce proved the turning point when in the first over of his second spell he dismissed Sean Heather.

Captain Sean Heather won the toss and invited Lindfield to bat. The bowlers found it hard to get much out of the wicket although did pass the bat a number of times without success.

Following the fall of the first wicket with the score on 26, Lindfield opener and captain Simon Shivnarain and Kevin Chamberlain put on 115.

Chamberlain in particular frustrated the bowlers, with his share of the partnership (27) coming off 111 balls. Shivnarain scored 84 before being caught on the mid-wicket boundary by 15-year-old debutant Jack Doe.

The pick of the Middleton bowlers was Craig Fowle, whose 20 overs returned figures of 4-53, as Linfield closed their innings at the end of the 53rd over on 224 for seven.

Middleton reached 150 for four with all their batsmen reaching double figures but, with the exception of Heather, none of them converting their starts into big scores.

The re-introduction of opening bowler James Pearce proved the turning point when in the first over of his second spell he dismissed Heather (56), catching him one-handed off his own bowling to a firmly-struck straight drive which stuck to the bowler’s hand.

He followed it up having Jamie Thompson caught by the keeper to a good diving catch and rounded off the over trapping Matt Cooke lbw without scoring – and Middleton found themselves 186 for seven.

Pearce went on to take the wickets of Patrick Colvin and Keelan Shoulders and with Doe having had to go to hospital with a hand injury, the Middleton innings finished on 211 all out with Pearce ending with 7-51.

Pagham slipped to a 41-run defeat to St James which makes relegation to division three increasingly likely.

Wayne Green and Peter Cotterill were among the wickets and Stuart Rutter, Eranga Disanggee and Ryan Barratt all got runs – but it was not enough.

Bognor v Ifield

Division two

Bognor had to settle for a draw in a game they should have won.

Fielding first, Bognor started slowly – but the introduction of Richard Cox brought immediate reward as the bowler picked up the wickets of Cooke and Sykes.

A procession of Ifield batsmen followed, as Cox, in tandem with Joe Ashmore (4-67), picked up regular wickets. Daniel Smith’s 50, and 30s from Groves and Salunkhe were the only real contributions as Cox finished with outstanding figures of 6-62 in 20 consecutive overs.

Bognor’s fielding was superb, with a stunning catch by Charlie Hunter and Zayne Bux the highlight.

Reaching over the long on boundary, and over his own shoulder, Hunter’s effort was spectacular enough, but his flick back to Bux, whose sprawling one-handed grab brought the innings to a close, was truly remarkable, Ifield ending 188 all out.

The same cannot be said of Bognor’s batting, which faltered in the face of some excellent spin bowling from Dinesh Salunkhe.

Maskell (41) and Max Ashmore (56) started positively, but Bux’s 46 was the only major contribution – Bognor forced to settle for a draw on 175-9, Sakunkhe the bowling pick with 7-59.

Ifield 2nd XI v Bognor 2nd XI

2nd XIs Div three west

Josh Broad took command of this fixture as Bognor twos travelled to the bottom of the runway at Gatwick Airport for a spot of cricket and plane watching.

Ifield won the toss and soon lost Tom Wragg to a Dan Winslow outswinger, but the hosts recovered with Alex Dobson and Mahad Ahmed before Dobson was well-held at mid-on by Iain Ashmore off John Hooker for 30.

Vish Patel top-edged Mark Hood to keeper Joe Bennett for a duck but a decent recovery between Ahmed and Rahul Patel saw the home team to 170 before Hooker disturbed Patel’s furniture for 30.

Tanya Wake nipped in to bowl Charlie Constable for four but a late salvo from Khalid Javed with 30 and Ahmed scoring a fine century saw Ifield declare on 228 for four.

Bognor’s reply began badly as Ashmore edged Joel Basson behind for one but a decent partnership between Broad and evergreen Bernie Burns tickled Bognor along.

Burns was leg-before to Graeme Dean for 11 before the Ifield skipper grabbed five for 13. With Broad out for 54 Bognor’s youngsters defended stoutly, but it was not their day as the visitors were bowled out for 81, Ifield winning by 144 runs.

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